Hi everyone! Welcome to High Five Success Stories. I’m very grateful to all of you who have decided to tune in!

My podcast began by focusing on the success and inspirational stories of women, but over the last few weeks, I decided it was time to evolve the podcast by having guest male appearances from time to time!

My very first male guest appearance is my friend Eddie DiDonato! Eddie is from Blue Bell, PA. He went to LaSalle High School and then Villanova for college, where he was a standout lacrosse player and captain both junior and senior year! After college, he settled in Philadelphia and landed a job in the insurance industry, living a very normal post-college grad life.

On January 17, 2010, he had a couple college friends in town—it was actually the weekend of the Villanova vs. Georgetown basketball game. Eddie and his friends went out for a normal night in Philadelphia. They had a lot of fun catching up and hanging out. That normal night suddenly took a drastic turn and Eddie found himself getting shot six times: one shot in the hand, one in the shoulder and four in the abdomen. Throughout our conversation, Eddie tells us about life prior to being shot, the story of being shot, the recovery stage, and what life is like today. Although this is a heavy story, Eddie does a great job keeping the conversation light-hearted.  He is incredibly positive, hard-working, and humble. He has an amazing perspective on life that will do nothing short but inspire you to become the best version of yourself and to always, always, always be grateful for each and every day. Eddie is currently living his best life in Philadelphia. He is a teacher at Prep Charter School where he not only teaches history but also lends a listening ear to his students to help them through life’s struggles. Hope you enjoy Eddie’s story as much as I did!

Resources

Books:

The Magic: 28 Days of Gratitude by Rhonda Byrne
Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Rise like the Phoenix by Thomas Connelly

Important Links:

Head Strong Lacrosse
Behati Life
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital